After 30 Years of Being a Dude, There's No Reason Why Link Shouldn’t Be a Lady

Nintendo can change the gender of their Zelda series hero, as the character is far from consistent anyway.

[FallenAngel1984]

Changing Link's gender for the sake of changing his gender and nothing else would feel completely empty and forced. It would be as pointless as making Zelda a male.

Hyrule Warriors did it best where most of its playable cast were strong playable female characters who had their own substance. Link shouldn't have rule 64 applied to him just to please SJW. I'd rather have another strong female character with her own character depth be added to the series.

[iSuperSaiyanGod]

It's like saying hey, batman now should be a girl ... No there's bat girl for that part . Just make a new character . Changing a characters gender for no reason at all is dumb . Specially a character as big as link . Arguable one of the most iconic video game characters of all time . Just dumb . Nothing else but dumb

[kreate]

Why cant they make a zelda game where ur actually playing as zelda?

Instead of making link a female...

[rezzah]

Now if this Link was a Lady because it was a mirrored world beside the original. it would be a cool idea.

"Opposite world" every character gender is the opposite and colours have changed as well.

[nowitzki2004]

Yay! Cant wait to save Prince Zelda.

[rezzah]

@nowitzki2004
I guess you can only save things with a vagina.

[SoulMikeY]

Rezzah, I'm pretty sure every Zelda game has you saving a sword at some point... sooo.

And on topic. I'm cool with choosing a gender if it's not a specific character, but if it is, it should NEVER be a choice to take away the creators art and change it. The fact that all of these "issues" are pushing their way into my entertainment tells me the world is going downhill quicker than it can be saved.

[JsonHenry]

The social justice warriors will be pleased. The fans will be put off.

[ShaunCameron]

@ Cobra951

Have you read about the making of Splatoon? Originally, they didn't want a male lead character in it as it would undermine the lead female character.

[sinspirit]

EXACTLY. It has to make sense. It can't just happen because it came to mind. Should we have Samus be a man in a new game? No. It's stupid. It isn't sexist at all. It just is what it is.

If I wanted to play as a girl in Zelda I would want a solid story played as Zelda, but it's hard to elaborate on because of their tri-forces being bound to themselves. Link is courage and always will be. I would love a game to play as both. When Link gets trapped the cutscene ends and you play as Zelda to unlock the spell with her magic.

[Shnazzyone]

Exactly, If these people had actually played the games they would realize that Zelda is a strong enough character in the series. Skyward sword the ongoing theme was knowing zelda and impa had already done everything way before you did. She was always 3 steps ahead.

Not to mention SJW's don't realise that it doesn't help whatever their cause is to make creators conform to how they want things. If you want better things than make them. If you feel that the characters in media you want are missing, then you should create these characters and if they are good they will be integrated into media.

[3-4-5]

There is " no reason " ? There are a million.

What is this person thinking who wrote this?

Have they no shame ?

* Fine article writer...Here is your logic right back at you.

EX: There is no reason why this person who wrote this shouldn't donate 100% of their paychecks to charity.

After going 20-30 years never doing it, it should happen right ? I mean according to this persons genius logic right ?

Worst article EVER!

* Stop STEALING other people's ideas for your own monetary gains and CREATE your own thing.

Smart people have the ability to create stuff.

Non-smart people do not...they have to steal.

[Christopher]

Why not just introduce a new protagonist in the series that is a woman?

[Big_Game_Hunters]

There is no reason for him to be a lady either. Why change something for no good reason?
Also lol at the article title originally saying "No reason why zelda shouldn't be a lady" then editing it.

[linkenski]

Except maybe it's setting up a romance between Link and a female lead, like his companion or Zelda or maybe there's a reason in the story for him to be a boy.

[iSuperSaiyanGod]

Is there a reason for you being a male or female?

[linkenski]

No, but in a story, if the plot involves link falling in love with Zelda for instance, and Nintendo wants to portray a hetero relationship, then that dictates Link to be male.

Don't get me on my backfoot with that strawman. Distinguish between reality and fiction please. Of course there's no reason why I am male, except for biological RNG.

[MrBrofist]

Nintendo has never confirmed rather or not Link and Zelda are a couple.

In the games they were either just friends or complete strangers.

Skyward Sword barley even touched on the subject even though this was the game they interacted with each other most.
He saves her because he needs they both need each other to seal away Ganondorf

[skydragoonityx]

Whoever is behind this.. Just stop.

[nowitzki2004]

I agree.... But on the other hand I have been a male for 28 years there is no reason for me not to be a lady.

[chrisx]

Link will always be a guy there are many females in hyrule to pick a lead from. This article makes zero sense

[MrBrofist]

It wouldn't be that far fetched if Link was a girl in a game because the series always evolved reincarnation so it could happen if Nintendo wanted to,
but the change wouldn't be that much of a game changer because Link is a silent protagonist.

I'd still play it if it did or didn't happen but the article is kinda pointless.

[The 10th Rider]

To be fair, even though Link is technically a different person in each game, he's still the same character in the eyes of most consumers.

[gamer7804]

here is a crazy thought, why don't we let the creators tell their story...

[MRMagoo123]

yeh the gender equality thing is just taking the piss now, like really taking the piss.

[Peace_Love_and_FPS]

In the end they have creative license and can make whatever game they please, link will always be male, he always has been, no SWJ author from Vice will change that. Chances are that you're all getting worked up for nothing because the author don't give a f*** about link being female and wanted clicks! :D

[scark92]

Games that push agenda's embarrasses me, any form of entertainment at that. It is pathetic!

[ShaunCameron]

Or better yet, tell the author and those who agree with him to make their own game? That way, they can include whoever they want and make the lead character whatever gender they want.

[The 10th Rider]

I agree. I'm against the idea of making Link female for the sole reason to make him female. I'm against making him female in general. But if Miyamoto came out and announced a Zelda game that featured a female version of Link, I'd trust his vision. The vision of some stupid politically correct feminazi on the other hand? Not a chance.

[Interinactive]

Why must every idiot with an agenda try to shoehorn their bullshit into every high profile game these days?

They should continue to design their games the way they see fit. If they had made Link a girl 10 years ago, I wouldn't have thought twice about it (or had any sort of problem). If they did it today I'd only see it as Nintendo pandering to those with nothing better to do with their lives since this seems to be an issue all of a sudden.

Who'd want Samus to be a male? Or want Princess Peach to become Prince Pineapple? They're characters we've come to know and love for the past ~30 years. Changing them for the sake of it, or to appease some stupid fucking social movement, is ridiculous.

[MSBAUSTX]

How about this title next year?

After 30 years of being a chick, there's no reason Samus shouldn't be a Man.

See if people who want this kind of thing want it to be fair then lets make all female characters have the option to be male. This entire idea is stupid. The reason Link is male is because the guy who created him wants Link to be a Male character. That is his right and there is no reason to question his creation because it isnt your creation.

[chrisx]

"After 30 years of being a chick, there's no reason Samus shouldn't be a Man"....exactly, you wuld never see these sjw punks say such a thing. never

[ShaunCameron]

Nope. LOL

Because according to SJW's, all men are evil.

[MrBrofist]

The Metroid series doesn't involve reincarnation. Zelda does.

It could happen but only if Nintendo wants.
Personaly I dont really care.

Male or female Link, it's still the same series.

[mushroomwig]

Why stop with Samus? Why not have Lara Croft become Larry Croft? Nathan Drake become Natalie Drake? It's beyond ridiculous and "journalists" need to stop trying to create controversy where there shouldn't be.

[Baka-akaB]

Yes there is , 30 years of being a dude . Why not just make a zelda centric title ?

And the train of thought behind the argument is stupid . Are we going now for fairness purposes , to deliver two set of each fictional creation , be it a book , a game , a movie , one for each gender now , if that's not the intent or focus of their creators ?

[MrBrofist]

I think we should get a game that stars Zelda or have a second quest with her as a playable character after you beat the game.

Link relying on tools and swordplay
Zelda relying on magic and strategy.
Something like that

[Peace_Love_and_FPS]

Co-op as well, with a single player where you're one or the other but can switch at certain parts so it adds depth to gameplay and a second replay, that would be great actually

[5yb5n6u]

then after years being a dude who saves the princess, theres no reason why mario shouldnt be a gay who save prince luigi from bowser's gay bar

[Ristul]

There is no reason why Mario is an Italian plumber, I want him to be Swedish with a blond mustache! He must be black too, by the way! I demand justice!

[SaveFerris]

Don't forget the wheelchair /s

[Helios86]

You are also forgetting the sexuality.

[vikingland1]

The writer of this piece is suggesting a form of censorship.

[Eamon]

The irony is that Link always looked so girly anyway. The best cosplay of Link are when its done by girls.

And not to mention, loads of female gamers love Link. He has quite the fangirl following.

There are quite a few female protagonists of games these days. I bet there are more well-developed female protagonists than males too.

The title says "After 30 Years of Being a Dude, There's No Reason Why Link Shouldn’t Be a Lady." This is a logical fallacy because of how loaded and rhetorical the statement is. The real question is "After 30 Years of Being a Dude, is there a reason why Link SHOULD be a girl." The author has the onus to answer that first. In my opinion, 30 years makes the case harder of Link being a girl. He's such an established character. If you want a female lead, make a new one. Don't borrow the legacy of others.

[Super_Ninja]

"After 30 Years of Being a Dude, There's No Reason Why Link Shouldn’t Be a Lady"

It's this mindset that makes me fear for the future of humanity.

I almost want the human race to end because of its increasing stupidity with every generation.

[Helios86]

Right, it makes no sense for a sane human being to think like that.

"I've been a male for 28 years, there's no reason why I shouldn't be a lady."

"My dog has been a male for 5 years, there's no reason why it shouldn't be a bitch."

Imagine if those where normal thoughts, we'd be completely insane.

[FullmetalRoyale]

There's no reason why this pizza shouldn't be a hamburger. Go make your own hamburger, and let us enjoy our pizza please.

[Peace_Love_and_FPS]

They were for Bruce, apparently lol

Have to admit though, it... Took a lot of balls

[HentaiMasterRace]

The entire human race will end soon or at least this society that has devolved over the years.

[Peace_Love_and_FPS]

Won't end but I see a rapid metamorphosis as reality eventually hits us all (you and I included), or we will do what most civilizations did when things weren't working and they needed better/more stuff: kill the majority of the poor people in other places and take their stuff and remain dystopian

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Anita Dirt-bag-ian, is that you?XD

Seriously, enough with the SJW agenda.
There's plenty of reason why Link isn't a girl, not the least of which being the fact that Link's spirit and Zelda's spirit are gender-locked into their roles for the sake of proper role reincarnation.

It is the Spirit of the HERO, not the spirit of the heroine, that aids the PRINCESS, not the prince.
Hell, the hylian royal family made it a bloodline tradition to keep the name Zelda in their bloodline.
Zelda is not a boy's name any more than Link is a girl's name.

Switching genders now makes no logical sense and would only serve to make many current fans unsettled over such an unneeded role swap that goes against the entire lineage and back story of the series.

[The 10th Rider]

Not to mention that it would be an absolutely horrible business move. Outside of the fact that Link is a different PERSON in each game, in the mind of most everyone who knows who Link is, he IS the same CHARACTER. It'd have the same effect as if they were to make Mario female, or Donkey Kong, or if someone decided to make James Bond female.

[ninsigma]

What a stupid thing to suggest. Back off with your sjw nonsense. Why would you change the gender of an established character?? It makes no sense what so ever!

[OrangePowerz]

Next up we will turn Solid Snake into a woman, Samus into a guy, Drake into a girl, and all female ff characters into guys, and some others also get a gender swap. How about Goddess of War where you play Kratosa?

If you want to play with a female character in a Zelda game ask Nintendo to make a game where you play Zelda.

[scark92]

KEEP AWAY FROM OUR GAMES

YOURS FAITHFULLY,
THE SANE!

[HeavenlySnipes]

The character already looks androgynous.

[Spotie]

Agreed. Just because dude looks like a lady doesn't mean dude should BE a lady.

[vongruetz]

It's exactly what Bruce Jenner was thinking.

[pandehz]

Why not make a different game with a female lead instead?

Why ruin Link?

Like suddenly after so many seasons of GoT, you cant just say
'ok lets switch Tyrion Lannister with a woman'

[Ogygian]

30 years of "being a dude" IS THE REASON he shouldn't be a lady.

I mean would people honestly accept "Lori Croft" the male? They wouldn't accept a female Link either. Furthermore, it is important to realise that video games are not made only for feminists: the world does not revolve around this one sub community of people (though they seem to think it does).

[Helios86]

I once considered Vice to be the pinnacle of journalism, I suppose this SJW leftist plague has dragged even Vice down to the seventh circle of hell.
What a pointless argument, why should Link be a girl all of a sudden? Studies even show for a FACT that we HUMANS don't give a **** about the gender of the playable character.

It's really simple aswell if you are a woman and you want more female characters, go write your own ****. Most games are written by white males and hence we tend to write white male characters in worlds that make sense to us. Witcher medieval europe, Game of Thrones Westeros also medieval europe and so on.
Trust me I won't mind if a black man or woman writes the story of a black hero in an african fantasy world based on african mythos, in fact that might turn out great.
Write your own stuff and stop trying to force other people to appease your entitlement.

[ShaunCameron]

Meh. Vice was always leftist. It's just that back then I only read it for its "trivial" articles on oral sex and how "nice guys finish last." I hardly read it for political or social commentary. College radio and other local alternative media filled that void better. I used to sympathize with whatever the left advocated except feminism.

[darren_poolies]

Yeah why not just make every male protagonist a female now? /s

I'm all for equality but why are people trying to force stupid stuff like this? It's annoying as f.

[Gh05t]

Equality means that Link being a man is just as important as link being a girl... meaning that they shouldn't need to change the gender because they are equal and should respect that link is a man as much as they would respect if link had been a girl.

They don't want equality, just like most progressive views, it doesn't hold up and contradicts itself if turned around.

[Peace_Love_and_FPS]

It's a shame that 90% of forward thinking people in this generation are f***** :/ female only feminist clubs, courage awards, national spotlight and the money that comes with it for changing your gender but not fighting for your country, and the absolute ignorance of immediate, pressing issues locally and internationally ignored but something as meaningless as marriage gains worldwide attention (I see value in connection not a piece of paper and trivial ceremony).

[Clown_Syndr0me]

Yeah man I totally agree, Nathan Drake and Masterchief should be women too./s

[Germany7]

People keep pushing that stupid idea, just stay away from gaming.

[Doodleburger]

Just stop. There are plenty of games with strong female leads. Do you think the next metroid game should have a male lead too? I didn't think so.

[rashada07]

Why change genders of characters for no reason but the sake of it? Better would be to have plot reversal for Link and Zelda. Make Zelda the Hero of Hyrule and Link the *prince that needs saving or whatever lol.

[RobAlmighty]

This is the same thing Bruce Jenner said.

[TheOtherVitaOwner]

Let's not do that. I don't need men's rights activists having a legit excuse to demand that Samus have her gender changed.

[dubal-e]

Samus is too hot and bad@ss to change genders.

[JacketsNest101]

Really?! You're bringing this up again? Didn't we already exhaust this discussion? I you want a zelda game with a female lead, then make a zelda game where the lead is Zelda herself. Character gender swaps would never work for Link because he is already established as male. That would be like saying Mario should be a woman because he is a prominent male character in video games Just use the existing female characters as the supposed 'female lead', in much the same way as Peach is now a playable character in every new Mario game. Can we please just put this topic to rest?

[MasterofMagnetism]

Please no.

[Defiantmac]

There is no reason except that its a staple character for nintendo that has always been a male and would be a pointless change.

Gender equality is great and all, but change just for change makes no sense. If you want to come up with a story where Ganon captures the hero of time and Zelda becomes the heroine that would be awesome. It would accomplish the same thing by giving the series a female lead for once and everyone has seen how badass Zelda can be, especially in Smash.

[Gh05t]

Vice, you vagenda is showing!

[dubal-e]

Reason number 1. His name is link, not Caitlyn.

[ChickenOfTheCaveMan]

Caitlink!! :D

[dubal-e]

LOL, hilarious

[Sy_Wolf]

There's a pretty good reason why he shouldn't be a lady. That's because his character ISN'T A LADY!

[Chaosdreams]

Ideas like this frustrate me. Sure, if there was a very well planned out idea for Link being a female then ok go for it, make it great. But just for the sake of it? No, that's stupid.

There's a line before art starts being dictated by the unsatisfied.

[Max-Zorin]

Changing the gender of a well established character is the dumbest thing anyone can do.

[BosSSyndrome]

Honetsly, i dont think I would care much. Link was never exactly a very developed character anyway. I love zelda games, dont get me wrong, but link just doesnt have much that defines him. Even miyamoto says he feels link should be an extension of the player. I would perfectly fine if he was female, as long as that didnt affect anything else. Or maybe, you could have the option for him to be either sex like in mass effect? Idk just a thought.

[ChickeyCantor]

What is lore.
How link get sword?

[EliteGameKnight]

There's also no reason why Link should have to be female. I believe equality to be moving forward equally, if you focus on a group and try to bring them up, that discrimination, as one group has more focus than another. It's one of those things where people say the ends justify the means, but it's too heavily influenced by extremism and stereotypes.

I am quite certain that people are fine with more female protagonists in games, just please don't shohorn them into existing franchises just for the sake of it. The outcome is simply forced and empty.

[ChickenOfTheCaveMan]

And after 20+ years of being a fox, can they please make Star Fox a bear?

Just because Marvel changed the gender and race of a few characters that now it's okay for critics and fans to ask corporations to do so too.

Make Link buddies with an equally strong female Hyrule fighter and beats a portion of the game with her, sure, but transform a beloved character, nah.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

I don't care either way-
BUT

Why not just make a spin-off with a connecting story to the main series?

Impa or Zelda would both make great leads.

[MNGamer-N]

Linkette? Linka? Link-Anne?